MOSCOW, March 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Russian government launched a large-scale programme in early March to build over 500 new schools accommodating up to 647,000 schoolchildren by 2024. The programme will be carried out through a public-private partnership (PPP), with VEB.RF mandated to be the key partner of private-sector companies. The total project value is estimated at $7.6 billion, including $4 billion to be raised from private investors, VEB.RF Chairman Igor Shuvalov said.
"VEB.RF is ready to co-finance the project, encouraging the partner banks to provide funding under concession agreements," he said. "PPPs in education will make it possible to deal with bringing new schools into operation at a faster pace, distributing and easing the burden on regional budgets and enabling good educational practices to be exported around the country."
The programme is now part of the «Education» national project started in Russia in May 2018. The project aims to ensure that Russian general education will rank by 2024 among the ten best in the world by its average PISA score and other metrics, including subjective well-being among teachers, quality of educational facilities and research results. The country is currently in 31st position in the PISA ranking, immediately below Latvia and above Italy.
A key feature of the project is comprehensive solutions that combine Russian and foreign best practices in setting up multifunctional spaces for joint and creative activities. The new educational centres will include swimming pools, improved gyms, libraries, recreational areas for students and teachers, and spaces for joint creative and scientific activities. Particular attention is paid to creating an accessible environment for children with disabilities. Each element of spaces within the new schools should expand and complement their teaching programmes.
The need for new educational centres stems from improved demographic trends in Russia, which will result in an estimated shortfall of 1,8 million school places by 2024. Most schools are needed in big cities experiencing an influx of population, but some of them will be needed in remote areas with insufficient infrastructure. "Taking into account our geographical characteristics, our top priority is to create general education of a comparable quality in all towns and cities across Russia," said Sergey Kravtsov, Russian Minister of Education. "Population growth makes us devise plans to create new school places that would fully meet the vision of a high-quality educational process."
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